Ortega's path to run for fourth straight re-election as Nicaraguan president

FILE PHOTO: A woman watches a televised speech by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega during an event where he agreed with his Honduran counterpart Juan Orlando Hernandez to define their borders in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, including the Gulf of Fonseca, which they share with El Salvador, in Managua, Nicaragua October 27, 2021. REUTERS/Maynor Valenzuela/File Photo

(Reuters) - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is up for re-election on Nov. 7 for a fourth consecutive term, with critics saying the former Marxist revolutionary has become the sort of authoritarian leader he once opposed as he suppresses growing dissent.

Following are the main events that shaped the rise to power of the longest-serving leader in the Americas and his consolidation of political control in the face of protests: